Averil Power (Fianna Fail)

I must respond to the Minister's point. It was a party political remark and, with respect to the Minister, we tend not to behave in that way in this House. The Minister and I have a good working relationship in this House and I thought the point should be made. He is aware that there is flexibility and it is important that action is taken.

To return to the narrower concept of the Bill, the Minister indicated that all of the contributions have still not come forward. We only have €20 million of the overall amount required for the statutory fund. What is the timescale for the establishment of the statutory board and how will it proceed? Will the board proceed to work with the money it has or will it be delayed while it is waiting for the congregations to do the right thing and come up with the rest of the money? Could the Minister provide clarification on the issue because survivors are becoming increasingly elderly and it is important that the work gets under way as soon as possible?